A comedy for both sexes

I saw this movie at a preview event last Friday night and it was
hilarious. The sold out cinema was laughing hysterically throughout the
movie. The movie is fast paced and does not drag. The comedy is "r"
rated with a little raunchy adult humor that can be shocking at times
but that is in line with the movies theme of male/female relationships.

Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler were both great in the film. Not a
role that you would expect to see the King of Sparta, but Butler has
great comedic timing complimenting his tough guy persona. And Katherine
Heigl is once again perfect doing comedy.

If you are expecting to see a typical romantic comedy you will be
surprised, because this R rated film is geared toward the men in the
audience as well as the ladies. Grab your significant other and be
prepared to laugh and enjoy the movie together.

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109 out of 178 people found the following review useful:

One of the few all-around great love movies, both for women and men!

So as I was forced to watch this movie with my sister and her friend,
the original stereotypical thoughts towards all love movies seem to be
bursting throughout my head- corny: guy meets girl, girl hates guy at
first, girl meets another guy then realizes that the first guy was the
love of his life, girl goes back to guy and the movie ends with a
touching make-out scene. Well, of course this was the case. HOWEVER, I
wouldn't exactly call this movie a chick-flick. It seem to be the
"battle of the sexes type," and it did not disappoint. I can easily say
that I had some great laughs in this movie; surprisingly, and I am not
even a comedy/chick flick guy. The whole moral of the movie is
something both guys and women can you relate to, and some scenes are
just hilarious for all types of audiences. The whole plot of the story
was actually pretty solid for this style movie. In fact, the approach
of this movie is so unique that I believe it belongs in its own
category. Gerard Butler gives an excellent performance, both funny and
charming. The humor had tremendous variety that kept audience laughing
hysterically at some points. Overall, I really do recommend this movie
for the male audience (Especially couples) and guarantee that they will
not be disappointed after seeing this flick.

Another GREAT Romcom for 2009

I was dragged to see the proposal by my girlfriend and thought it was
hilarious. When she wanted to go and see The Ugly Truth I found myself
putting up less of a fight this time. And I'm glad.

This film is HILARIOUS. I have to say I enjoyed almost every second
from start to finish. It truly is designed for both men and women with
fantastic views on romance, sex, attraction etc from both sides.

Acting is great, story is great and the chemistry between Katherine
Heigl and Gerard Butler works very well on screen.

To sum this film up I have to say watch it. Make your own mind up. But
I bet you won't be disappointed and I bet you can't stop yourself from
one agreeing with some of the points made and two laughing out loud.

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68 out of 110 people found the following review useful:

You want the truth? You can handle The Ugly Truth, a fine romcom, but be forewarned that it deserves its "r" rating

Abby (Katherine Heigl) is an intelligent producer of a local morning
show in Sacramento, California. She lives with her cat in a beautiful,
lushly-gardened apartment complex but, the lovely lady longs to meet
Mr. Right. One day, bad news arrives, twofold. One, since the show's
ratings have slipped, the owners of the station have decided to go in a
new direction. And, two, that direction would be south, Abby believes,
for they have hired a brash, I-don't-mince-words talk show host, Mike
(Gerard Butler) for a reprise of his late-night call-in program, The
Ugly Truth. Mike will do small segments of advice, where he will
counsel women on what a man "really wants". Since Abby has a past with
this gentleman (she had recently called the late night show to tell
Mike to take a hike) the young producer is mighty peeved that he has
been hired for "her" program. Instant dislike reigns supreme. However,
Mike does seem to know about affairs of the heart, even in his twisted
fashion, and starts to give advice to Abby, on how to "catch" the very
handsome young doctor, Colin (Eric Winter) who has just moved into her
complex. two doors down. But, since this requires Abby and Mike to
actually converse and confide in one another, could it be that Cupid's
arrows could go astray? This is a very raucous and funny romcom but. it
is definitely not in the Doris Day tradition. Therefore, if you are
easily offended or prefer "sweet" tales of love, with just a touch of
spice, this one may not be for you. That said, the cast is really
delightful, for Heigl and Butler make a most attractive. sparring duo
and Winter turns heads with his looks and smiles. The supporting cast,
with Cheryl Hines and the rest, is quite nice, too. Also, the
Sacramento setting is lovely while the costumes are terrific and the
production values high. As for the direction, it is full of energy and
mischief, as befits a script that is clever but rather risqué. All in
all, if you love romcoms or any of the stars, you will probably embrace
this one with gusto. For the truth is, it is very romantic at its core,
and that's the best ingredient a comedic love tale can possess.

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73 out of 129 people found the following review useful:

Perfect Movie for a Great Laugh!!!

What a fun movie! Don't pay attention to the critics - they need to
just go and enjoy a movie sometimes. If you don't like crude, sexist
humor, then don't go see this movie. However, if you can relax and just
go watch a movie, then you will enjoy this one. The entire theater was
rolling with laughter during this movie. I haven't laughed so much at a
movie in a long time. This movie was a mix of romantic and slapstick
humor with a little bit of crudeness thrown in for fun. This movie is
definitely not one to take kids to - but that's why it is rated "R." It
is full of adult humor (some crude), but that is nice for a change. All
I can say is...go and enjoy this movie!!!

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27 out of 43 people found the following review useful:

It's called a Stairmaster The Ugly Truth

Do you want to know the ugly truth about The Ugly Truth? Well, besides
being obvious and banal cinematically, it made me laugh a lot
actually. Romantic comedies usually have one thing going for them and
that is predictability. While this one has it in spades, what surprised
me was how crude and crass the humor ended up being. And that's a very
good thing because those instances brought on the biggest laughs of
them all. One could guess there would be a few moments, especially
after watching the trailer and seeing Gerard Butler's character being
the epitome of alpha male, however, one would never anticipate a dinner
party scene involving vibrating panties and a young child that loves
objects resembling remote controls. But I'll tell you, set-ups like
that were what kept me invested in the mediocre story, it definitely
wasn't the manufactured chemistry between the leads.

Everything revolves around our heroine Abby, played by Katherine Heigl.
It is definitely a role that she has proved herself willing to portray,
the strong-willed, professional beauty left by the wayside in regards
to the other sex. She produces a successful morning show that just
can't win in the ratings. Her cohorts are as conservative as she,
willing to do a piece about the mayor to try and drive viewership back
their way, shaking their heads when risqué ideas are batted around. Her
boss, however, decides to hire "shock-jock" of sorts Mike who has been
cultivating a following on cable access with his insight into the truth
about relationships. His callous nature and unwavering ability to say
exactly what is on his mind breaths life back into Abby's show despite
the trepidation of lowering herself to the kind of television she has
always abhorred. She can be swayed, however, once Butler's Mike agrees
to play Cyrano to her Christian in wooing her dating checklist approved
neighbor Colin. Like that French film, though, and all its many copies,
we all know who is really falling in love in the end.

Legally Blonde's Robert Luketic is behind the camera for this one and
I'll admit that he tries his best to use the script in order to keep
the audience on their toes. With subtle silent tricks, (introducing
Mike's nephew and sister in a way to make us completely believe they
are his son and wife), as well as a fearless use of language and sexual
innuendo, (bravo to the studio for letting them take the R-rating and
run with it), definitely got this guyas in meto stay alert while
awaiting the next comedic gag. And while I didn't quite believe the
romantic chemistry between Butler and Heigl, their relationship as
buddies worked swimmingly. The beginning of their pactto get her Colin
and he respect on the setwhere Mike coaches her on how to recover from
the desperate call for a date is paced perfectly and acted just right.
His over-zealous confidence and her naivety to it all becomes a great
one-two punch. One that works just as well when she turns the table by
proving she can flirt after a very funny shopping sequence where Mike
is the one approving her wardrobe.

And it's that aspect that worked for me too, seeing the guy be the
relationship guru for the girl. Sure you want to think that he is
wrong, you want to take offense to things he is saying as a guywilling
yourself to believe that he isn't speaking about youbut the sad truth
is, it's all probably not that far off. He is so right when he says he
doesn't understand romance or love, but that he is a master at lust and
manipulation. His methods work and they are foolproof, but as we
realize towards the end, along with Abby, the bond they acquire is
never lasting. If you have to be a generic type to win someone's heart,
well, you will never be happy. The ugly truth, therefore, is that
dating is hard and relationships take work, but if you aren't honest
with yourself or your significant other, it is all a lie that will only
end in heartbreak.

I'd like to give some credit to the supporting cast, but, frankly, they
aren't on screen very much. This is the Katherine and Gerard show
through and through. John Michael Higgins and Cheryl Hines do their
best to steal some thunder, yet, thinking back, their most successful
moments are a result of reactions to what Butler and/or Heigl did. If
there was one guy that I really enjoyed in the background, and he is
very quietly effective here, it would be Jesse D. Goins. His brief
seconds of screen time, with either a facial expression or quick quip,
are gold. The rest of the movie does rely on the stars and I applaud
them for doing an admirable job. Why Butler needed to fake an American
accent is beyond me, (his face just looked weird as he tried so hard to
hide the Scottish), and Heigl's smugness rubs me the wrong way every
time, but I was able to look past those crutches. If I could give The
Ugly Truth any words of encouragement, it would be that my girlfriend
loved it. So, if it fires on all cylinders for the demographic it's
marketed to, and kept me laughing enough to forget how mediocre the
actual story was, I guess, when all is said and done, it does do a
pretty darn good job.

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33 out of 57 people found the following review useful:

Better than I expected, it's honestly not that bad, it had better potential though

Romantic comedies, I've said it before and I'll say it again, we always
have the hit and miss formula that comes with this genre. For the most
part it's a miss, we RARELY have a funny or original romantic comedy.
It's been over a year since we've had a good romantic comedy and this
year seems to be pushing the horrible movies of this genre. For
example, we had The Proposal that was released this year and it was
just awful and so simple. The Ugly Truth seemed to be heading the same
way when I first saw the trailer, but when I learned that it was Rated
R, I decided to try to give it a chance. Honestly, this movie was a lot
better than I had expected, it actually had some really great laughs
and is a heck a lot better than The Proposal. But once again The Ugly
Truth fell back into the ugly formula of clichés that are just annoying
and there were quite a few things that I would have done differently
with the story, I'll first explain the plot.

Abby, a TV producer, is coming home from another disastrous date one
night, she happens to see a segment of a local television show, "The
Ugly Truth," run by Mike Chadway, whose cynicism of relationships
prompts Abby to call into the show to argue with him on-air. The next
day, she discovers that the station is threatening to cancel her show
because of its poor ratings, and the station owner has hired Mike to do
a segment on her show to bring them back up. At first, the two have a
rocky relationship; Abby thinks Mike is crass and disgusting while Mike
finds Abby to be a control freak. However she meets the man of her
dreams, a doctor named Colin living next to her, and Mike persuades her
to follow his lead. She agrees to his helpful advice and if he can get
her the man she wants, proving his theories on relationships, she will
work happily with him, but if Mike fails, he agrees to quit; he
successfully guides Abby to be exactly what Colin would want. But being
a romantic comedy, Abby and Mike instead fall for each other as usual,
you know how the story goes.

Now things I would've done different, if you don't want spoilers then
don't read on: there is a child that comes into Mike's apartment, he
and Mike get along great, I'm thinking that's his son; instead it's his
nephew. I think this would have added substance to his character and
made him more likable and would have had a better story on why he was
so bitter on women, maybe like the mother left him or something.
Second: I honestly would have had Abby chosen the doctor over Mike.
Katherine and Gerad are great on screen together, but their chemistry
for this film I felt was more of a great friendship than falling in
love with each other. Her choosing Mike over the doctor was so typical,
I would have had the doctor find out about what was going on and then
take her back realizing that he still liked her very much and then Mike
ends up with some slutty girl as usual happy with his shallow life, but
still enjoying it. Third: no tired formulas, no girl best friend
supporting everything the lead female does, no big kiss in front of an
audience, no dramatic of finding out what a kiss meant. Fourth: why do
we have gorgeous people claiming they have a hard time finding love or
supposedly not having sex for a year? I'm not saying it's impossible,
but I'm finding it hard to believe that girls who look like Katherine
Heigl are having the hardest time finding love.

But there are some positives in the film, honestly I did have a good
time watching this film over all, it was just the ending that killed
the movie. But even the little rip off of When Harry Met Sally where
Abby is wearing vibrating panties at a company dinner and someone
saying what was in her food to have the same effect, it's an old joke
but it never gets old. I loved that this was a Rated R rom-com because
the reason MOST of these movies don't work are due to the fact that
they're too family friendly and very much unrealistic. Not to say that
The Ugly Truth is completely realistic, but more so than most films. We
have some sick jokes but get a great laugh, Abby is going to a baseball
game with Colin, her crush, and she accidentally spills her drink on
his lap and starts rubbing his pants to clean them and the kiss cam
lowers in on them with a bad angle looking like she's just having fun
with his hot dog. Honestly I think most of the theater had a hard time
catching their breath on that joke, no one could stop laughing.
Katherine and Gerad do have great chemistry on screen, I just think it
would have worked better as a friendship. So I would say this is better
suited as a rental vs. a theater view. It's a lot better than I
expected but had more potential as it falls back into the same old
tired formula.

6/10

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16 out of 28 people found the following review useful:

A very nice romantic comedy

The Ugly Truth is a entertaining romantic comedy about Abby Richter, a
romantically challenged morning show producer whose search for Mr.
Perfect has left her hopelessly single. She's in for a rude awakening
when her bosses team her with Mike Chadway, a hardcore TV personality
who promises to spill the ugly truth on what makes men and women tick.
Although I think the movie is a little predictable and with some corny
moments, it is also very enjoyable and funny. The cast is formed by
Gerard Butler (300) and Katherine Heigl (27 Dresses) in the leading
roles. Heigl is like in her previous movies very good, she is made for
this type of movies and Butler is a real surprise, he did excellent in
his very first romantic comedy. In conclusion, The Ugly Truth is a very
enjoyable comedy for men and women.

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:

Predictable rom-com

Abby Richter (Katherine Heigl) is a high maintenance dater, producer of
a lowly rated morning show about to be canceled. Her boss hires male
chauvinist call-in show host Mike Chadway (Gerard Butler). Mike and
Abby clash even before their first meeting. On the opposite end, she
thinks her new hot doctor neighbor Colin (Eric Winter) fits the bill
perfectly.

This character actually fits Heigl's persona. So it has some potential
right off the bat. At least, she's not the sweet girly girl in a
rom-com.... until she meets the neighbor. She doesn't do that broad
comedy that well. She looks ridiculous and stupid. She's better off as
angry girl, sort of like Katherina in The Taming of the Shrew.

This movie is completely predictable. Everybody can see everything
coming from a mile away. The good news is that Heigl and Butler has
some chemistry in their combative relationship. That's about all there
is in this movie.

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6 out of 9 people found the following review useful:

The Truth Is Truly Ugly

First, I had last seen the star, Katherine Heigl, in a remarkable 2002
Twilight Zone episode, Cradle of Darkness. She's from the future sent
on a one way trip back in time to the year of Hitler's birth where
she's to try killing the baby. She gives a riveting performance, ending
with a shocking twist. I naturally wondered how she'd do in a comedy.

Second, the title of her new movie intrigued me. The truth is seldom
told precisely because it is ugly, hence unpopular. Many people prefer
comforting lies from movies, politicians, and dates. It would be
refreshing to have a film uphold a principle regardless of its
consequences.

Paradoxically, while discovering the movie rewarding on both counts,
the truth was so ugly that I don't wish to see it again, and can better
appreciate Katherine's fine acting skills in her earlier performance.

Here's a succinct summary: The male lead portrays a sexist pig
believing that men want only one thing, and women who romanticize for
something more are losers. Katherine plays a modern woman with old
fashioned virtues, finally meeting a nice guy. The sexist pig,
confident she'll fail, offers to help her get a date with the guy.
However, when she appears to be heading towards a relationship, the pig
gets jealous, so he makes an R rated pass at her in an elevator. The
result? She coldly dumps the nice guy because she found the sexist pig
sexier. The movie concludes with an even stronger R rated scene of our
heroine in bed with the pig.